Popular ice cream maker, Ben & Jerry’s has taken a unique stance in Oregon’s fight to label genetically modified foods. The company has renamed its Fudge Brownie flavor "Food Fight Fudge Brownie" in order to draw attention to Measure 92, the GMO labeling ballot initiative that Oregon voters will decide on next month.

Popular ice cream maker, Ben & Jerry’s has taken a unique stance in Oregon’s fight to label genetically modified foods. The company has renamed its Fudge Brownie flavor “Food Fight Fudge Brownie” in order to draw attention to Measure 92, the GMO labeling ballot initiative that Oregon voters will decide on next month.

The temporary name change represents the food fight that’s been going on across the nation in attempts to mandate labeling of genetically modified ingredients. Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s home state, recently passed a GMO labeling law, slated to go into effect in 2016, if the biotech industry and big food’s lawsuit against the law don’t shut it down before it goes into effect.

Several other states have passed modified GMO labeling bills (Connecticut and Maine), and states including California and Washington, where ballot initiatives were heavily favored to pass, were shut down through scare tactics used by the anti-labeling big food and biotech camps.

GMO labeling proponents are very hopeful that the measure will pass in Oregon, and Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of the Vermont ice cream maker, “is hoping to help sway the results of Oregon’s ballot initiative that would require food manufacturers to label products that contain genetically modified organisms, or GMOs,” reports Bloomberg. “Greenfield traveled to Portland last week to unveil ‘Food Fight Fudge Brownie,’ […] designed to draw attention to Measure 92.”

While the flavor is only going to be available in Oregon scoop shops, it’s an important effort in the campaign for Measure 92. It’s been twelve years since the last GMO labeling bill was rejected by Oregon voters, due in part to tricky campaigning by the food and ag industries. The groups never acknowledged the bill as a move toward GMO labeling, but rather, referred to it as a “costly food labeling bill.” This tactic was also used in both California and Washington recently, and succeeded in defeating the measure. But despite the anti-labeling campaign that says it would cost taxpayers hundreds of dollars each year, a Consumers Union report recently found that the average cost to consumers would amount to less than $3 per person per year.

In the latest efforts to revive flat sales, big food brands are doing the almost unthinkable: they’re dropping genetically modified ingredients from their products.

Ben & Jerry’s recently made the announcement that it was transitioning to non-GMO ingredients; General Mills’ and Post kicked off 2014 with similar announcements for their top selling cereal brands, Cheerios and Grape-Nuts. Walmart and Target have both boosted representation of organic foods in their stores, hoping the higher ticket items will be embraced by current customers and even draw in the dedicated organic shopper.

“Right now, non-GMO food fetches a premium,” reports NPR. “Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt says that premium is likely to come down if this part of the agricultural sector gains more traction and an efficiency of scale can kick in.”

NPR reports that the Non-GMO Project, which is the main certifying body for the non-GMO movement, has certified more than 20,000 products since 2007, and there’s more interest from big food brands than ever before. But should we be swayed by these efforts?

“Ben & Jerry’s, so vocal in its anti-GMO stance, has a conflict, of sorts,” explains NPR. “It may have eliminated GMOs, but it’s still owned by Unilever, which put a lot of money toward fighting labeling legislation in California and belongs to the [Grocery Manufacturer’s Association].”

And other brands have similar issues—Post and General Mills are members of the GMA, but even if they weren’t, there are other reasons to be wary of throwing support behind big food brands. For one, we’re talking highly processed foods often loaded down with excess sugar, salt and preservatives.

Across the board, Big Food has been guilty of misrepresenting products as natural when products often contain artificial ingredients. Even Whole Foods is feeling the pinch on this one.

Chipotle, the eco-minded darling of fast food received praise for removing GMOs from all but two items on its menu this year. (It says it’s still working on the tortillas.) But at the end of the day, it’s still fast food, encouraging us to skip a home-cooked meal.

If Big Food brands can learn anything from America’s growing interest in GMO-free and organic options, it’s that “the consumer is king,” notes NPR. For some customers, all they want is just better access to fresher fare and healthier ingredients. For others, it’s commitments to the environment, fair wages for farm, factory and retail workers, and for others its the absence of chemicals—be those pesticides or artificial ingredients in the finished products. But it seems the common denominator here is that consumers all want more out of their food these days, whether or not its coming from Big Food doesn’t seem to matter so much anymore as long as it’s Better Food.

Ben & Jerry's, the popular ice cream maker from Vermont, has announced that GMOs will be removed from all of the company's products by the year's end. Currently, 80 percent of Ben & Jerry's offerings are already GMO-free.

Ben & Jerry’s, the popular ice cream maker from Vermont, has announced that GMOs will be removed from all of the company’s products by the year’s end. Currently, 80 percent of Ben & Jerry’s offerings are already GMO-free.

“Now, we aren’t scientists, we make ice cream, but we do know there are questions about whether GMO technology is truly living up to its promise of making bigger and better food, or whether it’s just simply another way to further industrialize and consolidate our food and agriculture system. Because Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of supporting family owned farms, we’re concerned that increasing GMO crops comes at the expense of smaller farms, which we believe is a more sustainable kind of farming,” the company said in a statement.

Because of the number of ingredients that go into making Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors, the transition may be a challenge, says the company, but they’re committed to making the shift, “We support those calling for transparency and a consumer’s right to know and support the push for mandatory labeling. We ought to all have freedom to choose whether or not we want to eat food that has been genetically engineered. We think this is a fundamental right.”

Ben & Jerry’s was one of the first brands of dairy products to take a stand against rBGH—a genetically modified and highly controversial growth hormone used in dairy cows. The company is also a supporter of the Just Label It campaign for federal labeling laws of foods containing genetically modified ingredients.

At one time or another, we've all been victim to one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. It starts as an innocent trip to the freezer to pull out a pint of Chunky Monkey but ends in tragedy as we realize that someone has beaten us to it.

At one time or another, we’ve all been victim to one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. It starts as an innocent trip to the freezer to pull out a pint of Chunky Monkey but ends in tragedy as we realize that someone has beaten us to it.

According to a press release, “The all-new Euphori-Lock from Ben & Jerry’s is designed to promote family harmony – and salvage your peace of mind!” The company states that the idea for the device came from a clever customer who suggested they sell the ice cream in stainless steel containers with padlocks attached.

Clearly, she knew the heartbreak of living with an ice cream thief.

The plastic two-ring locking mechanism fits securely on your choice of flavors in the pint size and then locks with a secret code. Look closely, and you’ll notice that the inscription reads, “I’m terribly sorry, but there is no ‘u’ in ‘my pint’.”

And while we can’t attest to its impenetrability, the Euphori-Lock itself is no joke; you can purchase one from the Ben & Jerry’s online store for a mere $6.64. A small price to pay for peace of mind.

“Fair Trade creates stronger economic conditions, which help farmers feed and clothe their families, send their kids to school, get better health care and in general improve the quality of their lives,” says Paul Rice, President & CEO of TransFair USA, the only Fair Trade certification organization in the United States. “With something as simple as choosing to purchase a Fair Trade product, people are making a powerful decision to dramatically improve the quality of life for farmers halfway around the world.”

Ben & Jerry's purchases Fair Trade Certified coffee from a cooperative in Mexico; vanilla from Fair Trade Certified producers in India, with producers in Indonesia and Uganda under consideration; and Fair Trade Certified cocoa from producers in the Dominican Republic.

“Since Ben and I started the business, we’ve used ethical values to guide our business decisions, such as sourcing ingredients,” says Ben & Jerry’s Cofounder Jerry Greenfield. “Expanding from our Fair Trade Certified Coffee flavors to Fair Trade Vanilla and Chocolate is another step forward in our values-led sourcing decisions.”

The new Fair Trade Vanilla will be available in Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops this month and in supermarkets in January. Fair Trade Chocolate will be available in scoop shops in December and in grocery stores in January. Fair Trade Certified Coffee flavors are already available in scoop shops and grocery stores nationwide.

“Fair Trade creates stronger economic conditions, which help farmers feed and clothe their families, send their kids to school, get better health care and in general improve the quality of their lives,” says Paul Rice, President & CEO of TransFair USA, the only Fair Trade certification organization in the United States. “With something as simple as choosing to purchase a Fair Trade product, people are making a powerful decision to dramatically improve the quality of life for farmers halfway around the world.”

Ben & Jerry’s purchases Fair Trade Certified coffee from a cooperative in Mexico; vanilla from Fair Trade Certified producers in India, with producers in Indonesia and Uganda under consideration; and Fair Trade Certified cocoa from producers in the Dominican Republic.

“Since Ben and I started the business, we’ve used ethical values to guide our business decisions, such as sourcing ingredients,” says Ben & Jerry’s Cofounder Jerry Greenfield. “Expanding from our Fair Trade Certified Coffee flavors to Fair Trade Vanilla and Chocolate is another step forward in our values-led sourcing decisions.”

The new Fair Trade Vanilla will be available in Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops this month and in supermarkets in January. Fair Trade Chocolate will be available in scoop shops in December and in grocery stores in January. Fair Trade Certified Coffee flavors are already available in scoop shops and grocery stores nationwide.